Brain Explosion

Hi everyone. We're busy enjoying our long Memorial Day weekend here in the States. I got a new bike (tricycle with a push handle) so we have been out for a number of bike rides around the neighborhood. I ate my first watermelon today and loved it! This afternoon we went to a concert by the Philharmonic in the park with a few friends. I was very good and enjoyed the picnic part. I also liked clapping for some of the patriotic songs and the loud booms of the canons. Tomorrow we are going to a cookout with some friends and might go swim in the morning.

My brain is exploding with new things and new words every day. I imitate a lot of things. In the morning while Mom is getting ready I play in my pack 'n play and put things in a bag and act like it is my purse. I also like to put on my winter hat. I think I look very fancy, but others might think I look a little like a bag lady!

Mom leaves Thursday to go to Florida with the ND girls for a few days, so Dad and I will be on our own for the weekend.

Miss Chatterbox

Hope everyone had a good week. I continue to amuse Mom & Dad with my sign language. Here I am doing the signs for quiet and sleepy. Isn't Mommy doing a good job with her sign language, too?

I have been saying more words this week. And I even said my first sentence when we left the house one morning-- "Bye, Dog." The other new words this week are ball and bubble. Mom was blowing bubbles for me in the yard yesterday and then put them
away. A little while later I said "Bubble?" and started looking for them in the bag. I also am working on saying "apple" when I see it in my word book.

Yesterday we had great weather and played outside a lot. Then it was my turn to pick the restaurant for dinner so I selected Red Robin because I love their french fries. You can see I am way too cool in my sunglasses!

Welcome to Toddlerville

Mom & Dad say I have had some toddler moments this week. I told you about my episode at the dinner table last Sunday and more and more I do not want to be restrained in my high chair or I insist on having my things at the table-- shoes, bear, etc. I haven't felt great this week, so we think that might be causing my occasional episodes. One day I was leaving school and I saw a denim jacket on a hook (not mine) and I was sure we needed to get it and got very upset about it. Later that night when we were playing I actually pouted and stomped my feet in frustration. I am feeling better now, and these moments have been more scarce this weekend, but we'll see.

We had a pretty quiet weekend. Mom had her fundraiser raffle for the Rotary Club on Friday which was a big success and now she has fewer evening meetings- yeah! Dad won a prize in the raffle- a suite at the minor league baseball game and he can have 18 people as his guests! Not sure if I will be one of them . . . Today Mom and I went to the mall and I bought a new bikini for summer. Can't wait to come swim in PEI. (still don't know when!)

One of my funniest things of the week has involved sign language. We just got this book that shows a kid doing the signs and pictures that help explain it (I am looking at it in the picture). I love looking at the book and when I see the signs I can imitate them- kind of. Mom & Dad's favorite is the sign for quiet, which as you might guess is holding your finger to your lips like you are saying "Shhhh." In my version of this sign I put my finger on the side of my nose and then 9 times out of 10 I end up picking my nose! So if you want to tell a deaf person to be quiet just pick your nose.

I ate my first dinner off a plate tonight. It went pretty well, but Lily ended up with spinach and not chicken so she was a little disappointed with the experiment.

Happy Mother's Day

Hi everyone. It's me, Katie. First I would like to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day. We've had a nice day. When I woke up I had a card for Mom waiting in my crib. Then we hurried and got ready so we could get to our favorite breakfast restaurant. We knew it would be crowded-- and we were right. I was very good considering that we had to wait 40 minutes, but once we ate I fell in love with pancakes and syrup!

When we got home we tried to take a nice mother/daughter photo, but I had run out of steam, so we never really got a good one, but we attached a silly one of us laughing. This afternoon, Mom and I played on a blanket in the yard while Daddy mowed. Every time he went by I got really excited and started shouting "DADA" (the third photo is of me watching him mow.) He said my cheerleading helped! I also waved to all the neighbors like usual whenever they came out of their houses.

Mom & Dad think I have become kind of quirky. Friday night I insisted on wearing a hat to bed. I pulled it out my drawer and then I wouldn't let anyone take it off. Tonight I HAD to have my teddy bear and sandals at the dinner table. I got very upset when Mom & Dad thought they didn't belong there. It ended up being an interesting dinner. I didn't want to eat. Or be in my chair. Or have my bib on. But once strawberry shortcake came on the scene I managed to eat a little and Lily cleaned up a good amount of steak and potatoes.

Happy May Day

Hi everyone. Can you believe a year ago today was my baptism? I guess it is my baptism-iversary. Today I went to something like a baptism for Mom's friend's twin babies. It was a cradle ceremony, which is an Indian tradition involving blessing the babies. The twins had beautiful outfits from India and Mom got to help bless them. I was very good there, but it was a lot of work to keep me entertained-- especially when things started a little late. The ceremony was at the grandparent's house and I was very busy running all over- I especially wanted to go in the wine cellar and their elevator. Luckily there was one room without any furniture and I ran from one side to the other enjoying the sound of my voice echoing. The first picture is of me ready to go to the party and the second one is of me playing in the empty room.

Picture #3 was of play time this afternoon. I have been enjoying going to the hall closet to pull out my coats and hats. I insisted on wearing my ND hat even though it doesn't fit anymore. Then I wanted my jacket on. Then I grabbed the diaper bag. I think I was suggesting that we go some place!

Aside from all this, I am busy making new sounds and chattering a lot. Sometimes it sounds Chinese and other times it sounds like whole English sentences- Mom swears I said "I love dessert" yesterday. We discovered tonight that the eighth tooth in the front is on its way. It's funny because I have had four on the top and three on the bottom for ages now. We've been wondering where this little guy was!

Who's Tired Today?

Hi everyone. I had a great weekend in Indy! Aunt Jen and Uncle Billy were excellent babysitters while Mom & Dad went to the wedding. I had a great time running around their house and playing with them-- and I really enjoyed climbing their stairs. I also had a nice visit with Grandma and Grandpa Dolak who also went to the wedding. By the time Mom and Dad got home this morning (they stayed at the hotel to really put the babysitters to the test), we were all a little tired and some of us may have been a little hungover.

Thanks again, Jen & Billy!

Frozen in Place (for once)

Hi everyone. It's me, Katie. We had another gorgeous weekend here and I spent a lot of time outside.

I have started giving good hugs, which everyone likes. I also like to lean my head against Daddy's shoulder, and then Mom and Dad say "Awww . . ." and I keep doing it for laughs!

Yesterday I put on my new spring sandals and I was so funny because I thought I could not walk in them. I stood in the hall and acted like my feet were glued to the floor (2nd picture). Later in the day Mom and I went to play outside and I didn't like the grass touching my feet either. Mom realized this was to her advantage because I stayed put on the blanket and we just played and played for two hours (none of the usual chasing!)

Last night we went out for Mexican food and I got to order my own dinner (rice and a quesadilla). I even ate a few tortilla chips and a tiny bit of salsa. I was funny because I saw the bus boy cleaning the next table and I kept waving at him and then I grabbed a napkin and started imitating him by wiping our table!

This will be a busy week for us. Daddy is traveling for a few days and then we go to Indy next weekend for a wedding. Look out Aunt Jen and Uncle Billy! (they are babysitting me for a whole day and night!)

Spring is Here

We've been busy enjoying the nice weather this week. I've been outside a lot. One night after school I played ball in the yard and visited with the neighbors. The three-year-old across the street came and played ball with me for a little bit. My first neighborhood friend!

Mom & I went to the park yesterday and Mom quickly realized the park is a three-person excursion because you can't be at the top of the slide and the bottom of the slide at the same time!

Today we broke out the shorts and took a family walk. I got tired and decided I didn't like my stroller anymore so Mom got a great workout carrying me the whole way home.

I can now reach the door handles and my new game is emptying the pantry. Yesterday I unloaded as much as I could and kept bringing it into the family room. The funniest part was how I kept looking at the pile of stuff (Goldfish crackers, protein bar, sprinkles) as if I was trying to figure out what I was missing for the "recipe." Looks like Mom will have to reorganize the pantry shelves because this new game will only be fun until I break a jar of pickles!

I am understanding more and more words. I walk around the house looking for "Dada" and say "Dada?" as I go from room to room. Today Daddy was mowing the lawn and I stood at the front window banging on it and yelling "DADA!!!" So I think that "Dad" is the first word I really understand. And "dog" seems to be next. We saw a dog on our walk this morning and I got very excited and said "Dah! Dah!" (which I actually say differently from Dada). Perhaps an "M" word will be next?

The Easter Egg Hunt Continues

Hi everyone. We enjoyed our first full week back to normal with all of us home. I went to the doctor for my 15 month check-up on Wednesday. I weigh around 24 lbs (give or take a pound since I wiggled the whole time) and am 31 inches tall. This is around 65-75 percentile, but my head remains at 95 percentile!

Yesterday we went shopping in Cincinnati and had lunch at PF Chang's. You can see my Chinese heritage came out when we were eating there!

I am still obsessed with my Easter eggs. Several times this week I have gone to the door with my Easter basket-- I am sure there must be more eggs out there in the yard. Today we went out in the sunshine (but only high 50's in temp) and played Easter egg hunt again. Then later we walked over to the park across the street to play. I liked the slides the best, but played on the swings and climbed around, too.

I have been saying "uh-oh" a lot the last few days and seem to be understanding more and more. Today I was ready for a snack so I just marched up to my high chair and tried to climb in. Mom & Dad say I just keep getting funnier!

Happy Easter

Hi everyone! I really enjoyed my second Easter. Lily struggles with the holiday a little since it means that a bunny infiltrated our property, but we managed to enjoy ourselves anyway!

We went to church this morning. I had a hard time sitting still and I "sang" very loudly at times (sometimes with the choir and at other times a solo!) Daddy spent a lot of time in the back hallway with me.

As soon as I got my Easter basket I loved the colored eggs and immediately started gathering them up. Then we went outside for an Easter egg hunt. It was so much fun. And I knew to collect them in my basket. It wasn't very warm out or we might have hunted for eggs all afternoon! After that I hauled my basket all over the house. I also carried a very heavy bag of chocolate eggs around with me (even though they weren't for me!)

We went to a friend's house for dinner and had a great time. I ate pork loin and waved asparagus around and stained my tights with strawberries. I loved it!

Finally, I collapsed in my crib after reading one of my new Easter books.

Happy Easter, everyone.

From Sunday

Since Mommy had to go to Vegas for work on Sunday she wasn't able to help turn on the computer so that I could type my message. Daddy was going to do it, but he had a technical difficulty.

Here are a couple of photos from Mom's birthday weekend.

I got to play with my American relatives and reaquainted myself with Daddy. He brought me a funny Elmo doll from NY that he had programmed to say my name!

I will write more on Sunday after the Easter Bunny arrives!

Little Neat Freak

We've survived week one with Daddy gone-- he'll be home late Friday night and we are very much looking forward to it!

I've been a little under the weather since Friday (bad diaper rash and diarhea-- not a good combination), but I am back to myself as of this evening. We had a quiet weekend at home just playing and changing lots of diapers!

I did something kind of funny today. Since I wasn't as active as usual Mom gave me some catalogs to look at and I started having a terrific time ripping up the pages. After a few minutes I carefully collected all of the shreds, broke out of the play area by climbing through the basket (pictured) walked into the kitchen and stood waiting at the trash can and then looked up at Mom to open it. Mom thought it was funny because I've never used the trash can before and I just seemed to know where it should go.

I am looking forward to seeing Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Jen & Uncle Billy next weekend!

The Canadians Were Here

I had a great weekend and loved seeing Grampy, Grammie Pammy and Aunt Suz, but only wish the visit was longer! Gramps, we got your message, but I was in the tub when you called.

Today, we helped Daddy pack for his two-week training in New York and then we went outside to enjoy the warm sunny day. We went to the park across the street and did a little swinging and a little sliding in the little kid section of the playground. Then after that we were sad because we had to take Daddy to the airport. We miss him already, but Mom promised she would do silly Daddy stuff for me every night.

Before dinner I colored a beautiful picture using every crayon in the box (except black and brown). It is my best masterpiece to date. I will scan it and email it another day this week. I also attempted to begin a masterpiece on the red chair in the living room. Oops . . .

P.S. Jamma, thank you for the Clifford book and puppet and the card. I love the puppet (I wouldn't put it down before bed, so I ended up sleeping with him), but I can't say the same for Lily! She barked back at him yesterday.

Back from the Windy City

Hi everyone. We're all back home-- even Lily is back from camp. We had a fun time in Chicago at Mom's friend Tina's Big Fat Greek Wedding-- and it was very Greek. Most of the ceremony was in Greek and there was a lot of Greek dancing at the reception. I was great traveling there and adapted to the hotel room just fine. I made Mommy very happy by sleeping in until 10 am (our time) on Saturday morning-- I think she and her friends went to have a few "juicy cups" at the hotel bar just after we arrived, so she was grateful for a little extra sleep. I loved meeting all of the girls and picked up lots of gossip about everyone from ND. Before we left Chicago I got to visit with Uncle Dave at his hotel before his game. It's been a long time since I have seen him! We also had a great visit with Aunt Jen and Uncle Billy on our way through Indianapolis.

Mom and Dad were so busy keeping me contained at the hotel, wedding etc. that they didn't get any pictures of me-- Mom's friends have lots of pictures of me, though so maybe they will send some later this week!

I did get my school pictures back on Friday. As my teacher had predicted, they didn't turn out so well. I didn't like going to the other room for the pictures and I cried before they took them, so here is a picture of me in the role of "saddest little girl in America." I also scanned in my class picture. You'll see that the cool girls knew to where denim and pink. My best friend Ashli is the third from the left. On Friday when Mom and Dad picked me up early from school to leave for Chicago my group was sitting down having snack (Cheerios on Fridays). They witnessed how I kept my eight Cheerios in front of me and started eating Ashli's. It's a good trick if you can get away with it! Perhaps this is why we are best friends?

I am looking forward to my visit from Grampy and Grammy Pammy and Aunt Suzie this weekend!

More From Yesterday

Sorry for my brief message yesterday. Our computer was having a spyware problem and all these windows kept popping up while I typed. It took forever just to send that brief message, but we wanted to at least get the photos out. (I am very knowledgeable about computers for my age-- don't you think?)

Well, I am 14 months old today. This means I am getting more clever every day and Mom & Dad are really having to work to outsmart me now. I like to climb into the basket of blankets to hoist myself up on top of one of the Rubbermaid tubs that we use to contain me in the living room/play area. And I don't just like to get out-- I like to stand on top of it! (I think we got this on video, which we'll send soon).

We went out to dinner for Dad's birthday last night and I was very well behaved. It was an Italian restaurant with an open kitchen and I just watched and watched what was going on in there-- especially the big flames on the grill. We will do cake and presents tomorrow on Dad's official birthday.

We leave Friday evening for Chicago for Mom's friend's wedding. This will be my longest drive to date, the first time I stay in a hotel and the first time I meet some of Mom's ND friends.

Quick Photos

We're having a little computer problem, so here are a few quick photos. I will write more later.